Month: September 2016

From our experience, and in our opinion, when the CCC is making a large issue about something they have a hidden agenda. Questions need to be asked, like:

Does the issue over dockage have anything to do with the profitability of the grain handling members of the CCC?

Is making this such a big issue having a negative effect on canola prices?

Do lower canola prices enhance oil crushing margins?

What does a lower canola price do for unhedged grain company sales?

Does a lower canola price hurt grain companies at all, or just the growers?

We at GNG feel strongly that the only time the CCC is representing the interests of growers is when they align with the interests of the multi-national members who majority control their board. The quinclorac issue appears to be a perfect example of this. Given this, both growers and the Canadian government need to ensure that growers are properly represented in all canola matters, including domestic policy and international trade.

In our opinion, the decisions made by certain grain companies, and their associations, regarding quinclorac have no basis in science or fact. Rather, they appear to us to be solely based on profitability and shareholder returns at the expense of growers. As a company that cares about farmers we at GNG are doing what many in the industry refuse to do; putting farmers first.

The reality is that foreign buyers have no issue with quinclorac sprayed canola. This appears to include China, who has practised an MRL system of accepting Country of Origin’s MRLs and Codex in place of having their own complete MRL database. This has been confirmed both by conversations that Gerry Ritz has had with Chinese regulators and buyers, and by our own conversation with Chinese officials. Decisions made by certain grain companies seem to us to be based on profitability with little regard for growers. We understand that massive profits can be generated for grain companies through down grading canola grades due to cleavers (later blended and regraded #1) and by discounting the dockage that they ultimately sell to foreign markets for full canola value. However, this profit is entirely generated at the growers’ expense where yield losses, grade losses, and herbicide alternatives are costing growers 100s of millions. Worse yet none of the ‘alternatives’ are tackling the problem, which continues to grow.

Cleaver issues are further enhanced as these same grain companies have a virtual monopoly on where growers can sell their canola. Further these same grain companies appear to us to have hi-jacked associations that have grower input to mislead growers on the truth. Since these associations and grain handlers will not assist growers who require quinclorac, or buyers who prefer cleaver free canola, GNG is working hard to put more money in the growers’ pockets by bypassing those not working for the growers.

GNG would like to announce that we have substantial markets for canola, sprayed with quinclorac or not, for both off combine and future months. Call us for canola pricing picked up in your yard. Again, our buyers will take canola whether quinclorac sprayed or not. We at GNG are even more excited with what the future holds for growers, and we’d like to give you a sneak peek. We have initiated work with a number of major foreign food oil companies who are looking to build some of the largest canola crushing plants in Canada to date. These plants will not only create new premium priced canola markets, but also have no issue with handling quinclorac sprayed canola, solving the cleaver problem in canola. We at GNG see both these opportunities as greatly benefiting growers, and we feel strongly that they are worth growers throwing support their way in terms of canola volumes. We look forward to discussing these opportunities with you.